Navigating an indoor transit system using a mobile device

ABSTRACT

Devices, methods, and systems for navigating an indoor area such as an indoor transit system using a mobile device are described herein. The method may include navigating a network of indoor pathways and a plurality of access points for entering/exiting the indoor pathways. The indoor pathways may be mapped and may include a plurality of beacons distributed at designated locations throughout the indoor pathways. The beacons may be detected using a mobile computing device and an indoor location of the mobile computing device may be determined and depicted on the map of the indoor pathways. The location of the mobile computing device may be used to determine a route from the location of the mobile computing device to a destination in or adjacent the mapped indoor pathways.

This is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/737,677, filed Jan. 8, 2020, which is a continuationapplication of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/258,458,filed Jan. 25, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,539,424, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/622,412, filed Jan. 26,2018, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to devices, methods, andsystems for navigating an indoor transit system such as a skyway systemor subway system using a mobile device.

BACKGROUND

Many types of navigation systems and applications exist for navigatingoutdoor areas, such as highways, streets, bicycle paths, trails, etc.For instance, there are many types of mobile apps available for mobiledevices that can be used by the user of the mobile device to navigateoutdoor areas. Such apps may utilize publicly created and/or existingmaps (e.g., street maps, road maps, etc.) in combination with locationservices of the mobile device that typically leverage the GlobalPositioning System (GPS), cellular triangularization, and/or WiFiconnection to a WiFi hotspot at a known location to identify the currentlocation of the mobile device. However, in some indoor environments, oneor more of these location services may not be available or may beotherwise ineffective. GPS signals and cellular data signals can becomeweak and unreliable in indoor environments. Also, outdoor maps typicallydo not cover or include sufficient detail of many indoor spaces suchindoor transit systems to provide adequate navigation support to theuser once in the indoor transit system. What would be desirable is animproved tool to help users navigate indoor spaces such as indoortransit systems.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure generally relates to navigating an indoor areausing a computing device. In one example configuration, a method ofnavigating an indoor transit system may be provided. The indoor transitsystem may include a network of indoor pathways, a plurality of accesspoints for entering/exiting the indoor transit system, and a pluralityof beacons distributed at designated locations throughout the indoortransit system. The method may include detecting one or more of thebeacons of the indoor transit system using a mobile computing device(e.g. via Bluetooth) and determining when the mobile computing device isinside the indoor transit system based on the detected one or more ofthe beacons. The method may further include identifying the location ofthe mobile computing device within the indoor transit system based onwhich of the plurality of beacons are detected by the mobile computingdevice and displaying an indoor map of at least part of the indoortransit system on a user interface of the user's mobile computingdevice, including the identified location of the mobile computingdevice. Further, the method may include receiving a destinationaccessible by the indoor transit system via the user interface of themobile computing device, computing a route through the indoor transitsystem to the destination, and displaying on the user interface of themobile computing device the computed route on the indoor map. In somecases, the indoor transit system comprises one or more of a skywaysystem and a subway system.

In another example configuration, a method of navigating an indoortransit system that is situated in a geographic region, where an outdoormap is defined for the geographic region and the outdoor map identifiesthe geographic location of at least some of the plurality of accesspoints of the indoor transit system. The method may include detectingone or more of the beacons of the indoor transit system using a mobilecomputing device and determining when the mobile computing device isinside the indoor transit system or outside of the indoor transit systembased on the detected one or more of the beacons. When it is determinedthat the mobile computing device is inside of the indoor transit system,the method may include identifying the location of the mobile computingdevice within the indoor transit system based on which of the pluralityof beacons are detected by the mobile computing device and displaying anindoor map of at least part of the indoor transit system on a userinterface of the user's mobile computing device, including theidentified location of the mobile computing device. When it isdetermined that the mobile computing device is outside of the indoortransit system, the method may include identifying the location of themobile computing device in the geographic region based on locationservices of the mobile computing device and displaying the outdoor mapof at least part of the geographic region on the user interface of themobile computing device, including the identified location of the user'smobile computing device. The method may further include receiving adestination accessible using at least part of the indoor transit systemvia the user interface of the mobile computing device, computing a routeto the destination that includes at least part of the indoor transitsystem, and displaying on the user interface of the mobile computingdevice the computed route.

In a further example configuration, program code for use by a mobilecomputing device connectable to a network may be provided, where theprogram code may cause the mobile computing device to execute a methodof navigating an indoor transit system such as a skyway system and/or asubway system. The method may include detecting one or more of aplurality of beacons of the indoor transit system by the mobilecomputing device and determine when the mobile computing device isinside the indoor transit system based on the detected one or more ofthe beacons. The method may further include identifying the location ofthe mobile computing device within the indoor transit system based onwhich of the plurality of beacons are detected by the mobile computingdevice and displaying an indoor map of at least part of the indoortransit system on a user interface of the mobile computing device,including the identified location of the user's mobile computing device.Further, the method may include receiving a destination accessible bythe indoor transit system via the user interface of the mobile computingdevice, computing a route through the indoor transit system to thedestination, and displaying on the user interface of the mobilecomputing device the computed route on the indoor map.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic diagram of an illustrative system for navigating anindoor area using a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative mobile computing deviceusable for navigating an indoor area or interior of one or morestructures in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative system for navigatingan indoor area using a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIGS. 7A-7D are schematic diagrams of illustrative displays of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIGS. 8A-8E are schematic diagrams of illustrative displays of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative method for pinning alocation;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative method for sending alocation from a first user to a second user;

FIGS. 12A-12D are schematic diagrams of illustrative displays of amobile application for a mobile computing device;

FIGS. 13A-13D are schematic diagrams of illustrative displays of amobile application for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative method for displayinga route on a map;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative method for modifying aroute between a first location and a second location;

FIGS. 18A-18C are schematic diagrams of illustrative displays of amobile application for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative method for requestingemergency assistance;

FIGS. 20A and 20B are schematic diagrams of illustrative displays of amobile application for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative method for identifyinga parking location;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device;

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative method for switchingbetween mobile mapping applications;

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative display of a mobileapplication for a mobile computing device; and

FIGS. 25A and 25B are schematic diagrams of illustrative displays of amobile application for a mobile computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present system and approach may incorporate one or more processors,computers, controllers, user interfaces, wireless and/or wireconnections, and/or the like, in an implementation described and/orshown.

Devices, methods, and systems for navigating an indoor area of astructure using a computing device (e.g., a mobile device) are describedherein. As an example, embodiments of the present disclosure may includean application program code (e.g., a mobile app or mobile application)for navigating an indoor area of (e.g., an interior of) one or morestructures. In some cases, two or more structures may include and/or maybe connected by an indoor transit system, such as a skyway system, atunnel system, a subway system, and/or other suitable connecting systemsand/or combinations thereof. As used herein, a transit system mayinclude a network of indoor pathways and a plurality of access pointsfor entering and/or exiting the indoor pathways. As used herein, askyway system (e.g., a transit system that may be or may include askyway) may refer to and/or include an above-ground, interlinkedconnection of enclosed pedestrian footbridges that connect variousbuildings, such as office buildings, bars and restaurants, hotels,retail and shopping facilities, sports facilities, convention centers,concert facilities, parking ramps and garages, etc., thereby allowingfor indoor travel therebetween. Restaurants, shops, and other retailspaces may also be located within the skyway itself.

Existing navigational apps for mobile devices that are useful fornavigating outdoor areas (e.g., highways, streets, bicycle paths,trails, etc.) may not be as useful or effective in navigating indoorareas or interiors of one or more structures (e.g., such as indoortransit systems, including skyway systems, tunnel systems, subwaysystems, etc.). For example, a single, publicly created, or existing mapof the indoor area or interiors of one or more structures may not beavailable, and the Global Positioning System (GPS), cellular coverage,and/or WiFi coverage (e.g., signals from antennas) utilized by themobile device for the outdoor navigation may be weak, inconsistent, orunavailable in the indoor areas and/or interior of one or morestructures.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof. The drawings show by wayof illustration how one or more embodiments of the disclosure may bepracticed.

These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those ofordinary skill in the art to practice one or more embodiments of thisdisclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and that mechanical, electrical, and/or process changes may bemade without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

As will be appreciated, elements shown in the various embodiments hereincan be added, exchanged, combined, and/or eliminated so as to provide anumber of additional embodiments of the present disclosure. Theproportion and the relative scale of the elements provided in thefigures are intended to illustrate the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, and should not be taken in a limiting sense.

As used herein, “a” or “a number of” something can refer to one or moresuch things, while “a plurality of” something can refer to more than oneof such things. For example, “a number of mobile devices” can refer toone or more mobile devices, while “a plurality of mobile devices” canrefer to more than one mobile device.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conceptual block diagram of a mobile application 10for navigating an indoor transit system. In one example, the mobileapplication 10 may include a rules engine database 12, a locationidentification sub-system 14, a map sub-system 16, a navigationaldisplay, 18, and/or one or more other suitable databases or sub-systems.In some cases, the rules engine database 12 may include one or moredatabases including information and/or rules for filtering and/orproviding map data to be displayed through the navigational display 18.Example databases include, but are not limited to, a personal settingsdatabase 20, an external sources database 22, a facility database 24,and/or one or more other suitable databases to facilitate outputting thenavigational display 18. Although the mobile application 10 is depictedin FIG. 1 as comprising a variety of components, one or more componentsmay be added to the mobile application 10 and/or one more of thedepicted components of mobile application 10 may be separate from themobile application 10 (e.g. on a remote server) and interact with othercomponents of the mobile application 10 through an applicationprogramming interface (API) or the like.

As used herein, a mobile app, a mobile application, and an applicationprogram code may include and/or refer to computer readable and/orexecutable instructions (e.g., a computer program) designed to run on amobile computing device (e.g., on a mobile device such as a smart phoneand/or other suitable mobile computing device). In one example, themobile application 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be run on a smart phone.

Although the indoor area or interior of one or more structures may bedescribed herein primarily with respect to a skyway system, it should berecognized that embodiments of the present disclosure are not solimited. For instance, in some examples, the indoor area or interior ofone or more structures may be one or more of indoor transit systems suchas a tunnel system, a subway system, a railway tunnel system, a citysewer system transited by maintenance workers, a mine system transitedby miners, among other types of indoor areas or interiors of one or morestructures.

The mobile application 10 may receive indoor location inputs via thelocation identification sub-system 14. The received indoor locationinputs may be used by the mobile application 10 to determine a currentlocation of a computing device on which the mobile application 10 may beloaded (e.g., the current location of the user of the computing device)within the indoor area. The map sub-system 16 may then use the indoorlocation inputs to select a map for display (skyway map, subway map,etc.) along with the location of the computing device on the selectedmap in the navigational display 18.

In some cases, the indoor location inputs as determined by the locationand identification sub-system 14 may include communications (e.g.,signals) from one or more (e.g., a network of) beacons, where one ormore beacons may be located (e.g., installed and/or distributed) atdifferent respective locations (e.g., designated locations) throughoutthe indoor area or interior of the indoor transit system and/or one ormore other structures. Each of the beacons may have a known, designatedlocation within the indoor area or the interior of the one or morestructures and the location of the beacon may be identified using thelocation identification sub-system 14 when the computing device connectsto or senses the beacon. Once a location of the computing device isknown, the map sub-system 16 may identify a map to display on thenavigational display 18.

In some cases, and to help identify locations of beacons to users,stickers and/or other notifications may be placed in the indoor areas toprovide an indication to the user of the computing device that he or sheis located within the beacon network, and therefore can utilize themobile application. In some cases, the mobile application 10 mayautomatically provide a notification that the computing device is withinthe beacon network when the computing device senses and/or connects toone or more beacons.

The beacons may be devices capable of direct wireless communication withthe computing device, and may facilitate the determination of thelocation of the computing device within the indoor area. For example,respective beacons of two or more beacons in a network may each have adifferent predetermined location in the indoor area, and can communicatewith the computing device when the computing device is within aparticular proximity (e.g., range) of the beacon such that the computingdevice can determine its location based on the communication (e.g.,signal strength) it is receiving from the beacon(s) and a location ofbeacon(s) from which it is currently receiving signals. In one example,the location and identification sub-system 14 of the mobile application10 may be configured to determine a location of the beacon based on thepredetermined locations for each beacon of the beacon network and alocation of the computing device based on a signal strength between thebeacon(s) and the computing device. The beacons can be, for example,Bluetooth beacons that can communicate with the computing device viaBluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology (e.g., as an iBeacon). Further,the communications from the beacons may include (e.g. be) randomizedsignals that are only decodable (e.g., recognizable) by the mobileapplication 10 (e.g., the location identification sub-system 14), toprevent unauthorized use (e.g., hacking) of the beacon network.

Because the computing device (e.g., the user of the computing device) isindoors as determined, for example, by detecting one or more beacons ofthe beacon network, the mobile application 10 may determine the locationof the computing device within the indoor area more quickly and/or moreaccurately using the communications from the beacons than using GPS,cellular, and/or WiFi signals. GPS, cellular, and/or WiFi signals may beweak or nonexistent in the indoor area or interior of the one or morestructures.

The mobile application 10 may include and/or receive attributes orinformation (e.g., data) relating to one or more indoor areas orinteriors of the structures (e.g., indoor area attributes) and suchattributes or information may be received at and/or saved in thefacility database 24 or other suitable database. The indoor areaattributes or information may be publicly available or uploaded orotherwise provided by facility managers of the one or more structuresand/or indoor transit systems connecting the one or more structures. Theindoor area attributes may include, for example, maps of the indoor areaor interior of the one or more structures, physical attributes of theindoor area or interior of the one or more structures, events associatedwith the indoor area or interior of the one or more structures, and/orlandmarks, features, restaurants, wheelchair accessibility, restrooms,hours of operation, and points of interest in the indoor area orinterior of the one or more structures.

In an example in which the indoor area or interior of the one or morestructures includes a skyway system, the received and/or storedattributes or information may include locations of entries and exitsinto and out of the skyway system from the outside, hours during whichthe entries and exits are opened and closed, locations of doors withinthe skyway system, hours during which the doors are opened and closed,handicap (e.g., wheelchair) accessible locations within the skywaysystem, locations of particular buildings or types of buildings (e.g.,parking lots, ramps, and garages, sports facilities, concert facilities,convention centers, hotels, restaurants, etc.) within and/or near theskyway system, locations of restrooms and/or elevators within theskyway, locations of concert facilities within or near the skywaysystem, and/or locations of museums within and/or near the skywaysystem, among other attributes or information relating to use of theskyway system.

The mobile application 10 may include and/or receive attributes orinformation (e.g., data) associated with the indoor area or interior ofthe one or more structures from external data sources and suchattributes or information may be received at and/or saved in theexternal sources database 22 or other suitable database. The attributesor information associated with the indoor area or interior of the one ormore structures may include, for example, weather reports for exteriorthe one or more structures, traffic reports interior of and/or exteriorof the one or more structures, news reports, date and time of day, usagereports (e.g., information regarding the availability of public and/orprivate transportation, the occurrence of crowd drawing events occurringwithin or near the area, etc.), and/or safety incidents occurring withinor near the area, among other types of external information. Theexternal data sources may include third party mobile applications (e.g.,applications other than mobile application 10, which may be provided bythe provider of the mobile application 10 or other suitable provider)that interface with the mobile application 10 via an API and/or othersuitable technique.

The mobile application 10 may receive personal settings from the user ofthe computing device and selected personal settings from the user may bereceived at and/or stored in the personal settings database 20 or othersuitable database whether permanently saved or saved for a single use.In one example, a personal setting may be input by the user via a userinterface of the computing device, as will be further described herein.The personal settings may include, for example, an intended destinationof the user, personal preferences of the user, the personal calendar ofthe user, special route requirements (e.g., wheelchair accessible,etc.), and/or identifications for the computing devices of friends,family, and/or other acquaintances of the user, among other personalsettings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the map sub-system 16 may output a navigationaldisplay 18 of the indoor area or interior of one or more structuresbased on the received inputs (e.g., the indoor location inputs, theindoor area attributes, the information from external data sources, thepersonal settings, and/or other suitable inputs). The navigationaldisplay 18 may include, for instance, a plurality of mapped routeoptions, a mapped route (e.g., including turn-by-turn directions)through the indoor area to a destination, as well as additional relevantinformation about the indoor area along the route overlaid on thedisplay (e.g., where the additional relevant information may be providedvia visual indicators), as determined using the received inputs whichwill be further described via the examples herein. In one example, asequence (e.g., a flow) of the route mapping and navigation to aselected destination may be included within the navigational display 18.The navigational display 18 may be provided (e.g., displayed) to a userof the computing device on a display of or associated with the computingdevice, as will be further described herein (e.g., in connection withFIG. 2).

The navigational display 18 may be used to display various featuresand/or functionalities of the mobile application 10, some of which aredepicted in FIGS. 4-25 within a context of a skyway system. Examples ofthe functionalities of the mobile application 10 that may be depictedvia the navigational display 18 may include, but are not limited to:dynamic (e.g., updated) routing based on the hours which the entries,exits, and/or doors of the skyway system are open and closed, usagereports, safety incidents, traffic reports, weather reports, newsreports, and/or other suitable attributes or information received fromexternal sources and/or from facility managers of the one or morestructures over time; a save-and-share feature that may be used tolocate friends, family, and/or other acquaintances of the user of themobile device; routing based on wheelchair accessibility and/or thelocation of elevators and/or restrooms (e.g., by detecting and providinga route to the nearest elevator or restroom); an emergency requestfeature, which a user may use to raise an emergency request with theuser's current location; a route to the user's car currently parked in aparking facility; features to change (e.g., hand off) to an outdoor mapor third-party mapping application if the user moves outside of theindoor area or interior of the one or more structures, and can bechanged back to the navigational display 18 if the user returns to theindoor area or interior of the one or more structures; features to trackfamily, friends, or other acquaintances; features to set up tours; anindication (e.g., alert or warning) to the user if it is detected thatthe user is going the wrong way (e.g., based on the distance between theuser and the destination increasing rather than decreasing); and/or thedisplaying one or more other functions and/or features of the mobileapplication 10.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a computing device 26 for use innavigating an indoor area or interior of one or more structures inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The computingdevice 26 may be, for instance, a smart phone, tablet, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a personal computer, and/or other suitablecomputing device. However, configurations of the present disclosure arenot limited to a particular type of computing device 26.

As shown in FIG. 2, the computing device 26 may include memory 28 and aprocessor 30 that may communicate with one another such that theprocessor 30 may execute instructions (e.g., application program code ofthe mobile application 10, among other instructions) stored on thememory 28. The computing device 26 may further include a user interface32, a communications port 34, and/or one or more other suitablecomponents.

The memory 28 may be any type of storage medium that can be accessed bythe processor 30 to perform various examples of the present disclosure.For example, the memory 28 may be a non-transitory computer readablemedium having computer readable instructions (e.g., computer orapplication program instructions) stored thereon, such as, for instance,the mobile application 10 previously described in connection with FIG.1, that are executable by the processor 30 for navigating (e.g.,providing a navigational display for) an indoor area or interior of oneor more structures in accordance with the present disclosure. That is,the processor 30 can execute the executable instructions stored in thememory 28 to provide a navigational display for an indoor area orinterior of the one or more structures in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

The memory 28 may be can be volatile or nonvolatile memory. The memory28may also be removable (e.g., portable) memory, or non-removable (e.g.,internal) memory. For example, the memory 28 may be random access memory(RAM) (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or phase changerandom access memory (PCRAM)), read-only memory (ROM) (e.g.,electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and/orcompact-disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)), flash memory, a laser disk, adigital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, and/or amagnetic medium such as magnetic cassettes, tapes, or disks, among othertypes of memory.

Further, although the memory 28 is illustrated as being located in thecomputing device 26, embodiments of the present disclosure are not solimited. For example, the memory 28 can also be located internal toanother computing resource (e.g., enabling computer readableinstructions to be downloaded over the Internet or another wired orwireless connection).

As shown in FIG. 2, the computing device 26 may include the userinterface 32. A user of the computing device 26 may interact with thecomputing device 26 via the user interface 32. For example, the userinterface 32 may provide information to and receive information from theuser of the computing device 26. For instance, navigational displays 18for an indoor area or interior of one or more structures in accordancewith the present disclosure may be displayed to the user of thecomputing device 26 via the user interface 32.

In some cases, the user interface 32 may include a graphical userinterface (GUI) that may have a display 36 (e.g., a screen) that mayprovide and/or receive information to and/or from the user of thecomputing device 26. The display 36 may be, for instance, a touch-screen(e.g., the GUI can include touch-screen capabilities). As an additionalexample, the user interface 32 may include a keyboard or keyboardfunctionality, a pointer (e.g., a mouse, touch pad, or touch ball) orpointer functionality, a microphone, a speaker, a light system, a hapticsystem, a camera, a video camera, and/or other suitable user interface32 features the user may use to input information into and/or receiveinformation from the computing device 26. Configurations of the presentdisclosure, however, are not limited to a particular type(s) of userinterface 32.

The communications port 34 may be any type of communication port(s) andmay facilitate wired and/or wireless communication with one or morenetworks. In one example, the communications port 34 may facilitatecommunication with one or more networks and/or other devices (e.g.,beacons, other computing devices, mobile devices, servers, and/or othersuitable devices) through any suitable connection including, but notlimited to, radio communication, Ethernet, cellular communication,ZigBee, REDLINK™, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), WiFi, IrDA,dedicated short range communication (DSRC), EnOcean, Near FieldCommunication (NFC), and/or any other suitable common or proprietarywired or wireless protocol. In one example, the communications port 34may at least include a port configured to communicate over a Bluetoothconnection with a beacon.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system 40 for navigating anindoor area or interior of one or more structures using the computingdevice 26 in accordance with a configuration of the present disclosure.As shown in FIG. 3, the system 40 may include a plurality (e.g.,network) of beacons 42 (e.g., beacons capable of outputting signals tocommunicate with computing devices 26, such as Bluetooth beacons) andthe computing device 26 having the mobile application 10. The pluralityof beacons 42 may be distributed at designated locations through anindoor transit system and/or at other locations to facilitate locating acomputing device 26 in an indoor area and/or navigating through theindoor transit system. The computing device 26 may receive personalsettings from a user 44 and the computing device 26 may receive indoorlocation inputs from the beacons 42 via the communications port 34(e.g., the Bluetooth communication port or other suitable communicationport). In one example, the computing device 26 may communicate with thebeacons 42 over a Bluetooth communications protocol.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the system 40 may include one or moreremote servers 46 (e.g., content delivery edge servers and/or othersuitable servers), which may be located remotely from computing device26 and/or the beacons 42. The computing device 26 may receive (e.g.,download) indoor area attributes from third parties through a user ofthe servers 46 via a network 48.

The network 48 may include one or more networks and may include one ormore types of networks. The network 48 may be a wired and/or wirelessnetwork. For example, the network 48 may be a network relationshipthrough which the computing devices and servers can communicate.Examples of such a network relationships may include one or more of adistributed computing environment (e.g., a cloud computing environment),a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a local area network(LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a campus area network (CAN), ormetropolitan area network (MAN), among other types of networkrelationships. For example, the network 48 may include a number ofservers 46 that receive the indoor area attributes, personal settings,and/or external source attributes, and transmit such attributes to thecomputing device 26 via a wired or wireless network.

As used herein, a “network” may provide a communication system thatdirectly or indirectly links two or more computers and/or peripheraldevices and allows users to access resources on other computing devicesand exchange messages with other users. A network may allow users toshare resources on their own systems with other network users and toaccess information on centrally located systems or on systems that arelocated at remote locations. For example, a network may tie a number ofcomputing devices together to form a distributed control network (e.g.,cloud).

The network 48 may provide connections to the Internet and/or to thenetworks of other entities (e.g., organizations, institutions, etc.).Users may interact with network-enabled software applications to make anetwork request, such as to get a file or print on a network printer.Applications on a computing device may also communicate with networkmanagement software, which can interact with network hardware totransmit information between devices on the network.

In some embodiments, the servers 46 from which the computing device 26may receive the indoor area attributes, personal settings, externalsource attributes, and/or other suitable attributes or information maynot all be in the same physical location (e.g., different servers may belocated at different locations). In such embodiments, the computingdevice 26 may determine which of the servers 46 is located closest toit, and download attributes from that server 46. For instance, thecomputing device 26 may automatically default to (e.g., try to downloadthe attributes from) the closest server 46, then move on to the nextclosest server 46 if the closest server is unavailable. This mayincrease the speed at which the computing device 26 receives theattributes or information.

As shown in FIG. 3, the system 40 may include a database 49 (e.g., mapand location content storage database and/or other suitable databases)that may store the attributes or information. The servers 46 mayretrieve (e.g., search for and locate) the attributes or information tosend to the computing device 26 from the database 49. As shown in FIG.3, the system 40 may include an authoring tool 50 (e.g., a map andlocation authoring tool or other suitable authoring tool), which may beused (e.g., by an administrator 52 of the system 40) to createattributes or information (e.g., the maps and location content) to bestored in the database(s) 48. The communications (e.g., communicationprotocol) between the computing device 26, beacons 42, servers 46,database(s) 48, authoring tool 50, and/or other computing component ofthe system 40 can be secure communications such as, for instance, HTTPScommunications.

FIGS. 4-25 illustrate flow diagrams of how an example of the mobileapplication 10 operates in one or more illustrative configurations andexample screen shots of an illustrative navigational display 18depicting features of the mobile application 10 in accordance withconfigurations of the present disclosure. In one example, thenavigational display 18 may be output by the mobile application 10 anddisplayed to the user (e.g., the user 44 or other suitable user) on thedisplay 36 of the computing device 26. The navigational display 18illustrated in FIG. 4 depicts a map of a skyway system 60 and thebuildings connected by the skyway system 60 (e.g., an overall,high-level view of an indoor area or interior of one or morestructures), including a convention center 62 and sports facilities 64.

The skyway system 60 depicted in FIG. 4 is located in a geographicregion (e.g. Minneapolis, Minn.) and the map (e.g. an outdoor and/orindoor map) depicted in the navigational display 18 may be defined forthe geographical region. The map of the geographical region includingthe skyway system 60 and depicting at least some outside areas aroundthe skyway system 60 may include at least some entry/exit points oraccess points for the skyway system 60 and/or other indoor transitsystems in the geographic region. In some cases, as a map is zoomed into show a smaller geographic region, additional details of the smallergeographic region may be depicted in the map on the navigational display18.

As shown in FIG. 4, the navigational display 18 may include a scrollablelist 54 (e.g., scrollable in the direction of arrows A) of differenttypes of locations and/or destinations in or connected to the skywaysystem 60, such as workspace, eat & drink (e.g., restaurants and bars),parking, sport venues, shops, exhibits, events and others. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 4, the user has selected the parking tabfrom this scrollable list 54. Accordingly, the navigational display 18displays parking visual indicators 66 (e.g., the letter ‘P’ with acircle around it) overlaid on the map in the navigational display 18indicating the locations of parking facilities part of and/or connectedto the skyway system 60. Additional or alternative visual indicators maybe overlaid on the map in the navigational display 18 when otherlocations and/or destinations are selected from the scrollable list.

FIG. 5 shows a map of the skyway system 60 (e.g., indoor transitsystem), as well as a route 58 through the skyway system 60 from a firstlocation (e.g., a current location of a computing device 26 or othersuitable location) near the convention center 62 to a second location(e.g., a destination, such as US Bank Stadium 64 in the example of FIG.5). In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, a current location of thecomputing device 26 is indicated with a current location visualindicator (e.g., a dot) and the destination of the user is shown andlabelled in the navigational display 18 as a destination indicator 75(e.g., a circular dot that includes a symbol of the destination, such asa stadium symbol or other suitable destination symbol).

A current location of the computing device 26 may be determined bydetecting one or more beacons 42 associated with and/or located in themapped skyway system 60. It may then be determined when the computingdevice 26 is inside the skyway system 60 based on the one or morebeacons 42 (if any) that are detected. In one example, when thecomputing device 26 detects a beacon 42, the mobile application 10 maydetermine (e.g., using the location identification sub-system 14 orother suitable system and/or database) whether the detected beacon 42has a designated location associated with the skyway system 60. When thedetected beacon 42 has a designated location associated with the skywaysystem 60, the mobile application 10 may determine the computing device26 is within the skyway system 60. The mobile application 10 mayidentify a particular location (e.g., a current location) of and/ortrack the computing device 26 within the skyway system 60 based on whichbeacon(s) 42 or set of beacons 42 are detected by the computing device26 and/or a strength of a signal between the detected beacon(s) 42 andthe computing device 26. Once a location of the computing device 26 isknown with respect to the skyway system 60, the current location may bedepicted on an indoor map on the navigational display 18. In some cases,the mobile application 10 may display the current location using avisual indicator 68 on the indoor map at the current location of thecomputing device 26.

When the detected beacon(s) 42 does not have a designated locationassociated with the skyway system 60 (e.g., an indoor transit systemdisplayed in the map on the navigational display 18), the mobileapplication 10 may search (e.g., using the map sub-system 16 or othersuitable system and/or database) to determine whether the detectedbeacon 42 has a designated location within one or more other indoortransit systems mapped on a known indoor map, such as a subway system.If the detected beacon(s) 42 has a designated location within one ormore other indoor transit system mapped on a known indoor map, themobile application 10 may display the corresponding known indoor map andidentify the current location of the computing device 26 thereon. If thedetected beacon(s) 42 does not have a designated location within one ormore other indoor transit systems mapped on a known map, the mobileapplication 10 may continue to monitor for detected beacon(s) 42 havinga designated location within a transit system on a known indoor map,determine the computing device 26 is not within a transit system on aknown indoor map, and/or take one or more other suitable actions. Insome cases, if it is determined that the mobile device 26 is not withina transit system on a known indoor map, the mobile device 26 may switchto an outdoor map and may use GPS, cellular triangulation or otherlocation service and display the current location of the computingdevice 26 on the outdoor map.

In some instances, a first location may be entered into the mobileapplication 10 at a starting location box 76 and the second location maybe entered into the mobile application 10 at a destination location box78 via the user interface 32 of the computing device 26. The tolocations entered into the starting location box 76 and the destinationlocation box 78 may be entered and/or received as a street address, abusiness address, as a nearest bathroom, a nearest restaurant, abathroom, restaurant, or other feature nearest a place of interest, GPScoordinates, longitudinal/latitude and/or other suitable locationidentifier. To determine a location of a “nearest” feature, the mobileapplication 10 may select the noted feature that is closest to a currentlocation of the computing device 26 or specified place of interest andenter that location as the starting and/or destination address.

The first location and the second location may be entered into boxes 76,78, respectively, via the user interface 32 of the computing device 26(e.g., via typing, voice, and/or other suitable input means). In somecases, one or both of the first location and the second location may beautomatically entered into a respective box by the mobile application 10based on a current location of the computing device 26, as in theexample of FIG. 5, and/or a location selected in the map depicted on thenavigational display 18. Once the first location (e.g., a currentlocation of the computing device 26) and the second location (e.g., USBank Stadium or other suitable destination) are entered, the mobileapplication 10 may determine one or more routes 58 through the skywaysystem 60 from the first location to the second location and display theone or more routes 58 in the map on the navigational display 18.

In some cases, based on personal settings and/or other information ordata, the mobile application 10 may determine and/or display one or moreroutes 58 that extend at least partially through the skyway system 60 orother indoor transit system and at least partially exterior of theskyway system 60 or other indoor transit system (e.g., exterior thenetwork of beacons 42). In one example, the route 58 may extend frominside the skyway system 60 or other indoor transit system, through anaccess point of the skyway system 60 or other transit system, along ageographical region exterior of the skyway system 60 or other indoortransit system, through a further access point of the skyway system 60or other indoor transit system, and back into the skyway system 60 orother indoor transit system to the destination. In another example, theroute 58 may extend (e.g. start) from a location outside of the skywaysystem 60 or other indoor transit system, along at least part of ageographical region exterior of the skyway system 60 or other indoortransit system, through an access point of the skyway system 60 or otherindoor transit system, and into the skyway system 60 or other indoortransit system to a destination.

When the route 58 extends along an indoor transit system and thenexterior the indoor transit system, the mobile application 10 mayfacilitate switching between an outdoor map (e.g. third-party outdoormapping service) and the indoor map. In some cases, the mobileapplication 10 may initiate a third-party outdoor mapping service (e.g.,mobile app), send a starting location or sub-starting location and adestination or sub-destination to the third-party outdoor mappingservice when the user exits the indoor transit system. The mobileapplication 10 may monitor for when the computing device 26 re-entersthe indoor transit system and automatically initiate navigating via thenavigational display 18 to the destination.

As shown in FIG. 5, in a destination display 70 (e.g., a menu), thenavigational display 18 may display a distance and an estimated time(e.g., based on past movements of the computing device 26 with a userand/or based on general population averages) to the destination from thecurrent location of the user's computing device 26 when following thedisplayed and/or selected route 58. In the example illustrated in FIG.5, the destination is located 1.69 miles away from the current locationof a user's computing device 26 and it will take approximatelyforty-five (45) minutes and twenty (seconds) to walk to the destinationwhen following the displayed route 58, as indicated in the destinationdisplay 70.

The navigational display 18 may include turn-by-turn directions for theentire route. In some cases, a location of each respective turn alongthe entire route may be labelled in the display with directional visualindicator(s) 74. For example, a location of a turn along the route maybe labelled with directional visual indicators 74 overlaid on the mapdepicted in the navigation display 18, as depicted in FIG. 5 (note, onlysome of the directional visual indicators 74 are labeled for clarity).The directional visual indicator 74 may be a dot that has a smallerdiameter than the current location visual indicator 68, but this is notrequired and the directional visual indicator 74 may take on one or moreother suitable configurations, including, but not limited to, adepiction of a direction of a turn.

The navigational display 18 depicted in FIG. 6 depicts a portion of themapped route through the skyway system 60 depicted in FIG. 5, includingthe current location of the computing device 26 of the user (asindicated by the current location visual indicator 68). The navigationaldisplay 18 may include turn-by-turn directions in a navigation display72 for the route 58 through the skyway system 60 to a destinationselected by the user. In the example depicted in FIG. 6, thenavigational display 18 depicts turn-by-turn directions in thenavigation display 72 for a portion of the route depicted on thedisplay. For example, a textual description of the turn depicted in thenavigational display 18 (e.g., “then barely turn left after 0 mi”) maybe depicted in the navigation display 72.

The navigational displays 18 depicted in FIGS. 7A-7D show an example ofa sequence (e.g., flow) of the route mapping and navigation to aselected destination within the navigational display 18 of the mobileapplication 10. In FIG. 7A, the navigational display 18 displays a mapincluding a portion of a skyway system 60, a current location of thecomputing device 26 as indicated by the current location visualindicator 68, and “Eat & Drink” locations, as selected from thescrollable list 54, which are represented by restaurant visualindicators 80 (e.g., dots, in the example depicted, and/or othersuitable configurations) (note, not all restaurant visual indicators arelabeled 80 for clarity). In some cases, a textual indicator may bedisplayed as or with the visual indicators, such as “Your location>”associated with the current location of the computing device 26 or“Restaurant A” associated with a selected restaurant. In some cases, atextual indicator may be displayed when an associated other visualindicator is selected by a user. In some cases, and as shown in FIG. 7A,the indoor map of the skyway system 60 may be overlaid on top of anoutdoor map that shows the streets and other features outside of theskyway system 60. This may provide context for the indoor map relativeto the geographic region around the indoor map.

In FIG. 7B, the user has selected one of the restaurants, Restaurant Ato which to find a route. The user may select the restaurant by, forinstance, tapping the restaurant visual indicator 80 in the display forthat restaurant. The selection is indicated in the navigational display18 by a textual indicator (e.g., a restaurant name, such as RestaurantA) overlaid on the display at the location of the selected restaurantand in the destination display 70 being displayed in the navigationaldisplayl8. To initiate the mobile application 10 to obtain one or moreroutes to the selected destination, a user may select a directionsbutton 82 or voice a direction command to the user interface 32 of thecomputing device 26, and/or initiate directions in one or more othersuitable manners.

In FIG. 7C, the navigational display 18 displays a route 58 through theskyway system 60 as determined by the mobile application 10 based on thecurrent location of the computing device 26 (e.g., see “Your location”in the starting location box 76) and the user selected destination(e.g., see “Restaurant A” in the destination location box 78).Additionally, the destination display 70 overlaid on the map in thenavigational display 18 may provide a distance and an estimated time tothe destination (e.g., Restaurant A) from the current location of thecomputing device 26. To initiate turn-by-turn navigation directions, auser may select a navigation button 84 in the destination display 70 orvoice a turn-by-turn navigation command to the user interface 32 of thecomputing device 26, and/or initiate turn-by-turn navigation in one ormore other suitable manners.

Once the turn-by-turn navigation has been initiated by the mobileapplication 10, textual descriptions of each turn may be provided in thenavigation display 72 and the map may be zoomed in to focus on a portionof the route 58, but this is not required in all cases. In FIG. 7D, atextual description of the first turn along the route (e.g., “keepforward and turn left after 69 ft”) may be provided in the navigationdisplay 72, which may be overlaid on the map in the navigational display18. Additionally or alternatively, the destination display 70 maycontinue to display the selected destination and a distance andestimated time to the destination. In some cases, the distance andestimated time to the destination may be updated in real time as updatesare calculated due to changes in signal strengths between the computingdevice 26 and a beacon 42 and/or due to the computing device 26connecting to or sensing a new or different beacon than a previoussensed or connected beacon.

FIGS. 8A-8E depict an example of a sequence (e.g., flow) of the routemapping and navigation to a selected destination within the navigationaldisplay 18 of the mobile application 10 in which the user searches for adestination location. In FIG. 8A, a user may initiate a search for aplace of interest in or connected to the skyway system 60 depicted inthe map on the navigational display 18 by selecting a search button 86and/or other interactions with the user interface 32 of the computingdevice 26 may be utilized to initiate a search.

Once the search button 86 has been selected and a search has beeninitiated by the mobile application 10, a search screen may be displayedin the navigational display 18, as depicted in FIG. 8B. The searchscreen may include a search box and and a results box 90. If a userwants to search for a place of interest, the user may enter a place ofinterest or a type of place in the search box 88 (e.g., via a keyboard92 or via other suitable manners) and the results box 90 may displayrelevant places of interest with respect to what was entered into thesearch box 88. In some cases, prior to entering any terms into thesearch box 88, the results box 90 may display places of interest forpopular categories of places of interest (e.g., for the categorieslisted in the scrollable list 54), but this is not required. If the usersees a desired place of interest in the results box 90, the user mayselect the desired place of interest to select the place of interest asa destination.

FIGS. 8C-8E are similar to FIGS. 7B-7D, respectively. For example, inFIG. 8C, the user has selected a destination and the mobile application10 may display the destination in the destination display 70 and a usermay select the directions button 82 to initiate the mobile application10 finding directions from a current location of the computing device 26to the selected destination. In FIG. 8D, the mobile application 10 hascomputed a route 58 from the current location of the computing device 26to the selected destination and displayed the route 58 on thenavigational display 18. The distance and estimated time until arrivalat the selected destination may be display in the destination display70. Turn-by-turn directions may be initiated by selecting the navigationbutton 84 in the destination display 70 of FIG. 8D. The mobileapplication 10 may depict turn-by-turn directions in the navigationdisplay 72 and distance and estimated time to destination information inthe destination display 70, as depicted in FIG. 8E. Further, whenturn-by-turn navigation has been initiated by the mobile application 10,the map may zoom in on the current location of the computing device asindicated by the current location visual indicator 68 and an adjacentportion of the route 58.

FIG. 9 depicts a map of the skyway system 60 in the navigational display18, with a pinned location represented by a pinned location visualindicator 94. The pinned location visual indicator 94 may be a circlewith a square in the circle, but other configurations for the pinnedlocation visual indicator 94 are contemplated. In some cases, a textualvisual indicator (e.g., “Pinned Location” and/or other suitable label)may be displayed with the pinned location visual indicator 94 and/ordisplayed in response to selection of the displayed pinned locationvisual indicator 94. Further, the destination display 70 may be overlaidon the map depicted in the navigational display 18 and provide aselected pinned location and a directions button 82 initiating themobile application to compute a route from a current location of thecomputing device 26 (or other suitable location) to the pinned locationin a manner similar to the routing and navigating discussed above withrespect to FIGS. 7A-8E. In some cases, the destination display 70 mayinclude a favorites or pin button 96 to initiate pinning a selectedlocation or place of interest. The pin button 96 may be shaped like aheart, as in FIG. 9, and/or may have one or more other suitableconfigurations.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example schematic method 200 that themobile application 10 may follow to pin a place of interest. The mobileapplication 10 may be programed to receive 210 a selection of a location(e.g., a place of interest). In response to a selection of a location,the mobile application 10 may display a destination display 70, asdiscussed above, which may include the pin button 96. The mobileapplication 10 may be programed to ask or inquire 212 whether the pinbutton 96 has been selected. If the mobile application 10 determines thepin button 96 has been selected with respect to the selected location,the mobile application 10 may save 214 the location as a pinned locationin the rules engine database 12 (e.g., in the personal settings database20) or in any other suitable database. When the pin button 96 is notselected and/or after saving a location as a pinned location, the mobileapplication 10 may return to the step of receiving 210 a selection of alocation.

FIG. 11 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method 300 thatthe mobile application 10 may follow to share a current location orpinned location identified in the mobile application 10. The mobileapplication may be programmed to receive a selection 310 to share alocation from a first user (e.g., a user A). The first user may initiatea location share function of the mobile application 10 by selecting ashare button via the navigational display 18 and/or initiating thelocation share function by interacting with the user interface 32 of thecomputing device 26 in one or more other suitable manners. Once themobile application 10 receives or identifies a selection to share alocation, the mobile application 10 may initiate 320 a communicationtool on the computing device 26. In instances when the computing device26 is a mobile device or mobile phone, the mobile application mayinitiate a texting application, a phone call application, and/orinitiate a display with options of communication tools selectable by theuser via the user interface 32 of the computing device 26. Once thecommunication tool is initiated, the location to share is sent 330 to asecond user (e.g., user B). In some cases, the mobile application 10 mayinterface with one or more communication tools via an API and initiatethe communication tool and send the location automatically via the API.In other instances, the mobile application 10 may initiate thecommunication tool and it will be up to the first user to send thelocation via the communication tool.

FIGS. 12A-12D depict an example of a sequence of a first user pinning aplace of interest and sending the pinned place of interest to a seconduser via the mobile application 10. In FIG. 12A, a destination has beenselected as indicated by the textual visual indicator “Restaurant B”adjacent the restaurant visual indicator 80 and the presence of thedestination display 70 depicting the name of the selected destination,the directions button 82, and the pin button 96. As discussed above, thepin button 96 may be selected to initiate saving a selected location ordestination as a pinned location. In some cases, once the pinningfunction of the mobile application has been initiated, the navigationaldisplay 18 may provide a label box 100 in which a label (e.g., “Pinnedlocation” or other label) may be provided via the keyboard 92, asdepicted in FIG. 12B, and/or otherwise provided via the user interface32 of the computing device 26. Once a label has been provided and saved,the label may be used by the mobile application 10 to refer to the placeof interest on the map and the navigational display 18 may return to themap with the destination display 70 overlaid, as depicted in FIG. 12C.To share the pinned location or other suitable location (e.g., a currentlocation of the computing device 26), a user may select a share button98 in the destination display 70. When a pinned location or adestination is selected, selecting the share button 98 may cause themobile application 10 to initiate sharing the selected location ordestination. When no location is selected, selecting the share button 98may cause the mobile application 10 to initiate sharing the currentlocation of the computing device 26 and/or one or more previously pinnedlocations.

Once a share location function of the mobile application 10 has beeninitiated, the mobile application 10 may initiate a communication toolon the computing device. As discussed above, initiating a communicationtool may initiate a specific communication tool or may initiate acommunication selection box (e.g., selection box 102). In some cases, auser may be able to select a communication tool (e.g., a messagingapplication, an email application, a social media application, etc.)from which to share a location. Once a desired communication tool isselected, the mobile application 10 may automatically send the locationor a user may finish sending the location, as discussed with respect toFIG. 11. Such location share features and/or other share features of themobile application 10 may facilitate locating (e.g., finding) friends,family, and/or other acquaintances of the user of the computing device26.

FIGS. 13A-13D depict an example of a sequence of tracking family,friends, or other acquaintances, such as, for instance, during a highdensity event inside a building of the skyway system 60 via the mobileapplication 10. In some cases, the navigational display 18 and/or themobile application 10 via the user interface 32 of the computing device26 may provide alerts if others move too far away or out of the buildingand/or for other suitable reasons.

FIG. 13A depicts a map of the skyway system 60 in the navigationaldisplay 18, with the restaurant visual indicators 80 visible due to Eat& Drink being selected from the scrollable list 54 and the currentlocation of the computing device 26 indicated by the current locationvisual indicator 68. By selecting the textual visual indicator (e.g.,“Your location>”), the navigational display may display a locationoptions menu 104, as is depicted in FIG. 13B. The location options menu104 may display a “Share your location” option to share a currentlocation of the computing device 26 with others, a “Save this location”option to save or pin a current location of the computing device 26(e.g., save in the personal settings database 20), a “Pair with others”option to pair a current location of the computing device 26 withothers, a “Cancel” option to close out of the location options menu 104,and/or one or more other suitable options.

In response to selecting the “Pair with others” option from the locationoptions menu, the mobile application 10 may initiate a pair options menu106 that may be displayed on the navigational display 18, as depicted inFIG. 13C. The pair options menu 106 may display a variety of selectableoptions for configuring a pairing function of the mobile applicationwith users of the application (e.g., as installed on computing devicesof other users). For example, from the pair options menu 106, the usermay select people with whom he or she would like to pair (e.g., fromcontacts on the user's mobile device, contacts on a social mediaaccount, contacts associated with the mobile application 10, etc.),select the length of time for which he or she would like to be paired,select the conditions for when the user would like to receive alertsand/or have alerts provided to the others (e.g., when the user is out ofa particular range from the other users, when the user is in a crowdedarea (e.g., as determined by data of other current users of the mobileapplication 10 in an area and/or from third-party or external sources),when the user or the others are outside the map area, and/or at othersuitable times), and/or the user may have other options from which toselect and set up the pair feature of the mobile application 10. In somecases, other users may have to confirm a pair request before the usermay view their paired user visual indicator 108 on the navigationaldisplay.

After configuring the pair feature via the pair options menu 106 of themobile application 10, the navigational display 18 may depict the mapwith the location of other paired users as shown and labelled in thedisplay depicted in FIG. 13D. The users with whom the user is paired maybe identified by a paired user visual indicator 108. Although the paireduser visual indicator 108 is depicted as a circle with a sketched persontherein, the paired user visual indicator 108 may take on one or moreother suitable configurations including, but not limited to, userpersonalized configurations, profile images, etc.

Further, an alert may be provided in the navigational display 18 basedon alert conditions set when configuring the pair feature of the mobileapplication 10. As shown in FIG. 13D, two of the paired user visualindicators 108 may have an alert visual indicator 110 associatedtherewith indicating an alert is active for those paired users. In somecases, when the mobile application 10 receives a selection of the alertvisual indicator 110, the mobile application may indicate on thenavigational display 18 a reason for the alert with respect to thatuser.

FIG. 14 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method 400 thatthe mobile application 10 may follow when implemented on the computingdevice (e.g., the computing device 26) to provide a route from a firstlocation or destination to a second location or destination. Afterreceiving the first location and the second location, the mobileapplication 10 may identify 410 one or more routes from a first locationto a second location based on map data in a map sub-system (e.g., themap sub-system 16 or other suitable map sub-system). The map sub-systemmay contain map data usable for routing between two locations on themap. The one or more routes that are identified may be compared 412 toinformation and data in a rules engine database (e.g., the rules enginedatabase 12 or other rules engine database) or other information anddata. Based on the information and data in the rules engine and/or otherinformation and data, one or more route from the first location to thesecond location may be selected 414. In one example, only the routesthat meet the requirements in the information and data to which theroutes are compared are selected. In another example, one or more routesthat do not meet the requirements in the information and data to whichthe possible routes are compared may be selected in addition to theroutes that do meet the requirements in the information and data. Afterselecting the desired one or more routes, the mobile application 10 maydisplay 416 the selected one or more routes on the navigational display18. If the selected routes include one or more routes that did not meetthe requirement information and data to which the possible routes werecompared, such routes may be displayed on the navigational display 18with an indication that the route did not meet the requirements of theinformation and data. In some cases, if there is a large number ofpossible routes, the mobile application 10 may be configured to displayjust the top two or three routes based on distance, estimated time toarrival, and/or other suitable factors.

FIG. 15 depicts the navigational display 18 with two routes 58 displayedthereon. The route 58 depicted in gray is a route that did not meet therequirement information and data to which possible routes were compared.For example, the route 58 depicted in gray may have failed to meet therequirement information and data due to a door being locked or closed atan estimated time of traveling the route 58, as indicated by buildingclosure information stored in the facility database 24 in the rulesengine database 12 or other suitable data and information source. Asdepicted in FIG. 15, the route 58 in gray may include a path closedvisual indicator 112 at any suitable location along or adjacent theclosed route 58. In some cases, the path closed visual indicator 112 maybe located at or adjacent the portion of the path that is closed. Themobile application 10 may dynamically route a user and may provide atleast a second route 58 when a primary route or other route is closed orotherwise does not meet requirement information and data. In FIG. 15, analternative route 58 is depicted in black and meets the requirementinformation and data to which it was compared. As such, the mobileapplication 10 may be configured to dynamically route users from a firstlocation to a second location based on obtained or received requirementinformation and data, including facility data.

FIG. 16 depicts the navigational display 18 with two routes 58 displayedthereon.

The route 58 depicted in gray is a route that did not meet therequirement information and data to which possible routes were compared.For example, the route 58 depicted in gray may have failed to meet therequirement information and data due to a safety incidentoccurring(e.g., maintenance is occurring at a location along the route,and/or other safety issue is occurring) in the skyway system 60 at anestimated time of traveling the route 58, as indicated by externalsource or third party information stored in the external sourcesdatabase 22 in the rules engine database 12 or other suitable data andinformation source. As depicted in FIG. 16, the route 58 in gray mayinclude a safety/maintenance visual indicator 114 at any suitablelocation along or adjacent the closed route 58. In some cases, thesafety/maintenance visual indicator 114 may be located at or adjacentthe portion of the path at which the safety issue or maintenance isoccurring. The mobile application 10 may dynamically route a user andmay provide at least a second route 58 when a primary route or otherroute is closed or otherwise does not meet requirement information anddata. In FIG. 16, an alternative route 58 is depicted in black and meetsthe requirement information and data to which it was compared. As such,the mobile application may be configured to dynamically route users froma first location to a second location based on obtained or receivedrequirement information and data, including third party and/or externalsource data.

In some cases, part of the indoor transit system may be closed based ona schedule. For example, some doors along the indoor transit system maybe locked at 9:00PM-5:00AM on weekdays, and 11:00PM-8:00AM on weekends.The computed route may take into account the schedule such that thecomputed route does not traverse through those parts of the indoortransit system when they are scheduled to be closed, but may includethose same parts when they are scheduled to be open.

FIG. 17 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method 500 thatthe mobile application 10 may follow when implemented on the computingdevice 26 to dynamically modify a route from a first location to asecond location that is displayed on the navigational display 18. Themethod 500 may include receiving 510 a selection to modify a routebetween a first location and a second location. In some cases, a usermay initiate a route modification feature of the mobile application 10by interacting with the user interface 32 of the computing device 26. Inresponse to receiving a selection to modify a route, options formodifying personal settings of a user may be displayed 512 to a user viathe navigational display 18 or other suitable display. The method mayinclude receiving 514 a selection of a personal setting option. Once aselection of a personal setting is received, the personal settingselection may be saved (e.g., saved permanently or for a single use inthe personal settings database 20). Then, possible routes from the firstlocation to the second location may be compared to the rules enginedatabase 12 or other requirement information and data updated in view ofthe selected update to a user's personal settings for the mobileapplication 10. Once an updated or modified route is identified, theupdated or modified route(s) that meet the updated requirementinformation and data in view of the selected personal settings may bedisplayed 518 on the navigational display 18.

FIGS. 18A-18C depict an example of a sequence (e.g., flow) of modifyinga route through the skyway system 60 based on a personal settingsselection by a user. In one example, a user may update or modify itspersonal settings selection by changing settings for wheelchairaccessible routes, locations of restrooms, locations of restaurants,and/or one or more other suitable settings.

FIG. 18A depicts a navigational display 18 with a route on a map from afirst location (e.g., the current location, as entered in the startinglocation box 76) to a second location (e.g., Restaurant A, as entered inthe destination location box 78). The navigation display 18 may alsoinclude the destination display 70 with the navigation button 84 and adistance and estimated time until arrival at the destination. Further,the navigational display 18 may include a modify route box 116 overlaidon the map depicted in the navigational display 18. When a user selects(e.g., taps or otherwise selects via the user interface 32 of thecomputing device 26) the modify route box 116, the navigational display18 may display a modification options box 118, as depicted in FIG. 18B.The modification options box 118 may include a “Wheelchair friendlyroute” option for selecting a personal setting that requires routes tobe wheelchair friendly, a “Routes with restrooms” option for selecting apersonal setting that requires routes to include at least one publiclyaccessible restroom along the route, a “Routes with restaurants” optionfor selecting a personal setting that requires routes to include atleast one restaurant along the route, a “Cancel” option to exit out ofthe modification options box 118, and/or one or more other suitableselectable options.

Selecting one or more options may result in the mobile application 10dynamically updating a route to reflect the updated personal settingsand displaying the updated route in the navigational display 18. FIG.18C depicts an updated route in view of the updated personal setting.Although the updated route 58 depicted in FIG. 18C does not appear to bedifferent than the route 58 in FIG. 18A, a user may know the route 58has been updated to reflect personal setting selections because anupdated personal settings box 120 may be overlaid on the map in thenavigational display 18 indicating selected personal settings. In theexample of FIG. 18C, the updated personal settings box 120 indicates theroute 58 is a wheelchair friendly route.

FIG. 19 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method 600 thatthe mobile application 10 may follow when implemented on the computingdevice 26 to initiate emergency assistance. The method 600 may includereceiving 610 a selection of an emergency request option. A user may beable to initiate an emergency request option in one or more manner. Inone example, a user may initiate an emergency request option on thecomputing device 26 independent from the mobile application 10 (e.g.,through selecting a button or sequence of actions to initiate emergencyassistance). In another example, a user may initiate an emergencyrequest option via the mobile application 10 (e.g., through selecting abutton or a sequence of actions integrated into the mobile application).Even when an emergency request has been initiated independent of themobile application 10, the location of the computing device 26 may beobtained from the mobile application via an API or other mechanism andsent to the appropriate emergency response providers. In response toreceiving a selection of an emergency request option, the mobileapplication 10 may initiate 612 a communications tool. Once acommunication tool has been initiated, an emergency request may be sent614 to emergency response providers along with an indoor location, asdetermined through the mobile application 10. In some cases, the mobileapplication 10 may automatically populate an emergency response requestand send it via text message or a voice call without waiting for a userto select a communication tool, but this is not required. Settings(e.g., auto populate, auto send, which communication tool to use, etc.)for the emergency request feature of the mobile application may be savedin the personal settings database 20, but this is not required.

FIGS. 20A and 20B depict an example of a sequence (e.g., flow) ofnavigational displays 18 of the mobile application 10 that may beprovided when requesting emergency assistance. FIG. 20A depicts anavigational display 18 with a map of the skyway system 60 depictedthereon and a current location visual indicator 68 on the map. A usermay select an emergency request option by interacting with the userinterface 32 of the computing device 26 in one or more manners. In oneexample, a user may select and hold a button of the user interface toinitiate the emergency request option of the mobile application 10and/or perform one or more other actions to initiate the emergencyrequest option. Once an emergency request option has been initiated, thenavigational display 18 may depict an emergency request box 122, asdepicted in FIG. 20B. The emergency request box 122 may include an“EMERGENCY” option for indicating an emergency is occurring at alocation of the computing device 26, a “Request assistance” option forindicating assistance is needed, but that it may not be due to anemergency situation, a “Cancel” option to exit out of the emergencyrequest box 122, and/or one or more other suitable selectable options.In one example, when the mobile application 10 receives a selection ofthe “EMERGENCY” option, the mobile application 10 may initiate acommunication tool and automatically send an indoor location of thecomputing device 26 to emergency response providers and request help,but this is not required. In another example, when the mobileapplication receives a selection of the “Request assistance” option, themobile application 10 may request further input from a user including,but not limited to, input concerning what type of assistance may beneeded, is assistance time sensitive, what communication tool to use torequest assistance, additional information to provide with the requestfor assistance, and/or other types of input concerning requestedassistance, but this is not required.

FIG. 21 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method 700 thatthe mobile application 10 may follow when implemented on the computingdevice 26 to identify a location of a parked vehicle (e.g., a car, abike, a boat, and/or other suitable means for transportation) withinwhich the computing device 26 may be traveling. The method 700 mayinclude the mobile application 10 observing 710 an accelerometer of thecomputing device 26 or other suitable accelerometer. The mobileapplication 10 may observe the accelerometer readings (e.g., outputs ormeasurements) through an API, but this is not required. As theaccelerometer readings are being read and/or otherwise observed, themobile application 10 may be computing whether 712 there has been adeceleration to a stop in the data output from the accelerometer. If theanswer is no there has been no detected deceleration to a stop, themethod 700 returns to observing 710 outputs from the accelerometer. Ifthere has been a deceleration to a stop, the mobile application 10 maydetermine whether 714 the computing device 26 is located in a parkinglocation. If the answer is no the computing device 26 is not located ata parking location, the method 700 may return to observing 710 outputsform the accelerometer. If there has been a deceleration to a stop andthe computing device 26 is located in a parking location, the mobileapplication 10 may mark 716 the current location of the computing device26 the location of a parked vehicle.

Although the method 700 describes a technique of monitoring readingsfrom an accelerometer to determine when a vehicle has been parked,techniques using additional or alternative measurements may be utilizedby the mobile application 10 to determine when a vehicle has beenparked. In one example, in addition to or as an alternative tomonitoring accelerometer readings, GPS signals, cellular signals, WiFisignals, and/or other signals may be monitored over time to facilitatedetermining when a computing device 26 is in a vehicle and when thevehicle has been parked. In another example, in addition to or as analternative to monitoring accelerometer readings, the mobile application10 may identify a vehicle has been parked by interfacing with athird-party application (e.g., a third party application that obtainsGPS signals, Cellular signals, WiFi signals, makes a parked vehicledetermination, and/or otherwise contains information and/or data relatedto movement of a vehicle) and receiving or obtaining an indication fromthe third-party application that a vehicle in which the computing device26 may be traveling has parked. Other techniques are contemplated.

The mobile application 10 may identify a parking location via sensedbeacons 42 and by comparing sensed beacon data to facility data in afacility database 24. Additionally or alternatively, the mobileapplication 10 communicate with other mobile applications or third partymobile applications (e.g., applications that provide a differentfunction than the mobile application 10, even if the applications areprovided by the same entity as provides the mobile application 10) viaan API or other suitable communication mechanism to identify a parkinglocation and/or for other suitable purposes.

The process of detecting when a vehicle is parked and/or a location of aparked vehicle may be performed in the background by the mobileapplication 10, without initiation by a user. Alternatively, a user mayinitiate a vehicle park monitoring feature in the mobile application 10(e.g., in a personal settings database and/or at one or more otherlocations). In some cases, the mobile application 10 may continuallymonitor readings from the accelerometer and initiate a process fordetecting a location of a parked vehicle (e.g., the method 700 or othersuitable method for detecting a location of a parked vehicle) inresponse to detecting an increase in acceleration of the computingdevice 26 and/or other pattern in accelerometer readings that may beassociated with the computing device 26 being in vehicle. Alternativelyor in addition, the mobile application 10 may continually monitorthird-party apps for indications that the computing device 26 may be ina moving vehicle and initiate a process for detecting a location of aparked vehicle in response to receiving or obtaining an indication thatthe computing device 26 may be in a moving vehicle.

FIG. 22 depicts the navigational display 18 with a map of the skywaysystem 60 and a current location of the computing device 26 indicated bythe current location visual indicator 68. Additionally, the navigationaldisplay 18 may display the location of a parked vehicle as indicated bythe parking visual indicator 66. In some cases, the parking visualindicator 66 indicating a location of a parked vehicle may only bevisible when parking is selected from the scrollable list 54 and inother cases, the parking visual indicator 66 indicating a location of aparked vehicle may be displayed on the navigational display 18 withoutparking being selected from the scrollable list 54. Further, althoughthe parking visual indicator 66 indicating a location of a parkedvehicle are depicted in the figures as a same element or configurationas that indicating a parking location, this is not required. If theparking visual indicators 66 indicating a location of a parked vehicleand the parking visual indicators 66 indicating a parking location arethe same shape, the respective parking visual indicators 66 may havedifferent features or indicators (e.g., different colors, added symbols,added shapes, etc.) to indicate their separate meanings to users.Alternatively or in addition, the parking visual indicators 66indicating a location of a parked vehicle and the parking visualindicators 66 indicating a parking location may be different shapes ordistinct objects.

FIG. 23 is a schematic flow diagram of an illustrative method 800 thatthe mobile application 10 may follow when implemented on the computingdevice 26 to switch between an indoor map and an outdoor map (e.g. thirdparty mapping application). In some cases, a single application may haveaccess to an indoor map and an outdoor map. In other applications, oneapplication may have access to the indoor map and another applicationmay have access to an outdoor map. In some cases, the mobile application10 may create routes that extend between the indoor map and the outdoormap. In some cases, the mobile application 10 may be in communicationwith an outdoor mapping application (e.g. Google maps) via an API orother suitable mechanism. The mobile application 10 may be configured todetect when the computing device 26 is outside the indoor transit system(e.g. not detecting beacons 42 of the indoor transit system). When thecomputing device 26 is outside the indoor transit system, the mobileapplication 10 may automatically reference an outdoor map and/orinitiate an outdoor mapping application. When the mobile application 10detects it is inside the indoor transit system, the mobile application10 may automatically reference the indoor map and/or initiate an indoormapping application.

The method 800 may include determining whether a beacon 42 is detectedby determining if the computing device 26 has received a signal from oris in connection with a beacon 42 of an indoor transit system, as shownat 810. When a beacon 42 is detected, the method 800 may includedetermining whether the location of the computing device 26 is in amapped region of the indoor transit system. Sometimes, maps may only beavailable for part of the indoor transit system. In some cases, alocation of the computing device 26 may be determined based on thedetected beacon 42 and/or the signal strength from the detectedbeacon(s) (e.g. using the location identification sub-system 14 or othersuitable system). When the beacon 42 is detected and the location of thecomputing device 26 is located in a mapped region, the method 800 mayinclude depicting or showing 814 a determined indoor location of thecomputing device 26 on the indoor map on the navigational display 18using the mobile application.

When it is determined that a beacon 42 has not been detected or alocation of the computing device 26 relative to the detected beacon 42is not located on the indoor map, an indication the that user is outsidea map coverage area may be shown, as shown at 816 (e.g., shown in thenavigational display 18 of the mobile application 10). When showing theindication that the user is outside of a coverage area, an outdoor mapmay be automatically referenced and/or an outdoor (e.g., a third-party)mapping service application may be initiated as shown at 818.

In some cases, switching between the indoor map and an outdoor map, orbetween an indoor mapping service (e.g., the mobile application 10) andan outdoor mapping service (e.g., third-party mapping applicationsdisplaying an outdoor map), may be automatically performed by the mobileapplication 10 (e.g., using the location and identification sub-system14) without initiation by a user. In one example, a user may exit amapped indoor area or interior of one or more structures while followingan indoor route on the mobile application 10 and as the user exits thenetwork of beacons (e.g., exits the indoor transit system, such as theskyway system 60), the mobile application 10 may automatically referencean outdoor map and/or initiate an outdoor mapping service to the samedestination that the route in the mobile application 10 was directingthe user, and cause an outdoor map to display a current location of thecomputing device 26. Similarly, when a user is following a route on anoutdoor mapping service, the mobile application 10 may recognize acomputing device 26 on which the mobile application 10 is located hasentered a network of beacons 42, and may then automatically reference anindoor map and provide a route to the same destination the outdoormapping service was taking the user. In another example, when a user isfollowing a route on an outdoor mapping service, the mobile application10 may indicate a closest entry point to a mapped indoor area orinterior of one or more structures. In some cases, the mobileapplication may utilize information or data (e.g., weather data or othersuitable data) to indicate the user should be routed inside at aparticular location or entry point due to a street riot, a change inweather conditions, or other undesirable condition outdoors.

FIG. 24 depicts the navigational display 18 with a map of the skywaysystem 60 and a current location of the computing device 26 indicated bythe current location visual indicator 68. Additionally, the navigationaldisplay 18 may include an outside area box 124 indicating to a user thatthe computing device 26 is outside of a network of beacons 42. In somecases, the outside area box 124 may include a text description such as“YOU SEEM TO BE OUTSIDE OUR MAP AREA” and “We can send the nearest entryto your default map app installed on your device. Once you reach theentry point, relaunch this app.”, but other text descriptions may beutilized. Although FIG. 24 depicts the current location visual indicator68 in the skyway system 60, such a location may be a last mappedlocation of the computing device 26. In some cases, the mobileapplication 10 may be configured to depict a location of a computingdevice 26 or user on its map using other location techniques (e.g., GPS,cellular triangulation, etc.) when the computing device 26 has beendetermined to be outside of the network of beacons 42.

FIGS. 25A and 25B depict an example of a sequence (e.g., flow) offollowing an exhibit or tour through an indoor area or interior of oneor more structures. Further, the navigational display 18 may depict atour through an indoor area or interior of one or more structures thatmay be set up as a sequence (e.g., a series) of places of interest, suchas exhibits for a museum, guided tours, or orientations of a building(e.g., for new hires of an organization), etc. A user may scroll throughthe scrollable list 54 to access a desired exhibit or tour with which toparticipate.

FIG. 25A depicts the navigational display 18 with a map of the skywaysystem 60 and a current location of the computing device 26 indicated bythe current location visual indicator 68. Further, FIG. 25A depicts thecurrent location visual indicator 68 near a museum 126 that includes aplurality of exhibits as indicated by exhibit visual indicators 128connected by a path (e.g., gray dashes connecting the exhibit visualindicators 128 and/or other suitable paths in the navigational display18). When a user passes by an exhibit or a place of interest in a tour(e.g., like a checkpoint), the navigational display 18 may be updatedaccordingly. In some cases, when a user passes by an exhibit or place ofinterest in a tour, a textual description (e.g., “Exhibit 1” or othersuitable textual description) may be displayed on the navigationaldisplay 18 based on information and data in the rules engine databaseand/or other suitable information and data. In some cases, thenavigational display 18 may include an exhibit description box 130 thatmay be selected by a user (e.g., by tapping on the box and/orinteracting with the user interface 32 of the computing device 26) tobegin the tour and/or exhibit. In some cases, a title of the exhibitand/or tour may be provided in the exhibit description box 130 (e.g.,“Medieval Exhibits Tour”, as depicted in FIG. 25A, or other suitabletitle or description).

FIG. 25B depicts a navigational display 18 similar to that in FIG. 25A,but with the current location visual indicator 68 within the museum 126adjacent Exhibit 1. As the computing device traverses fromexhibit-to-exhibit or place of interest to place of interest, an exhibitcounter or tour counter in the exhibit description box 130 may provide avisual indication of where the computing device 26 and associated useris at with respect to the overall exhibit and/or tour. For example, inFIG. 25B, the positioning of the current location visual indicator isone fourth (¼) of the way done with the exhibit/tour. Such a feature mayfacilitate a user identifying how long an exhibit or tour might take tocomplete.

A recap may be provided in the following. The present disclosuregenerally relates to navigating an indoor area such as an indoor transitsystem, using a computing device. In one example configuration a methodof navigating an indoor transit system may be provided. The indoortransit system may include a network of indoor pathways, a plurality ofaccess points for entering/exiting the indoor transit system, and aplurality of beacons distributed at designated locations throughout theindoor transit system. The method may include detecting one or more ofthe beacons of the indoor transit system using a mobile computing deviceand determining when the mobile computing device is inside the indoortransit system based on the detected one or more of the beacons. Themethod may further include identifying the location of the mobilecomputing device within the indoor transit system based on which of theplurality of beacons are detected by the mobile computing device anddisplaying an indoor map of at least part of the indoor transit systemon a user interface of the mobile computing device, including theidentified location of the mobile computing device. Further, the methodmay include receiving a destination accessible by the indoor transitsystem via the user interface of the mobile computing device, computinga route through the indoor transit system to the destination, anddisplaying on the user interface of the mobile computing device thecomputed route on the indoor map. In some cases, the indoor transitsystem comprises one or more of a skyway system and a subway system.

The destination may be received as a street address. The destination maybe received as a business name.

The indoor transit system may be situated in a geographic region. Theoutdoor map may be defined for the geographic region and the outdoor mapmay identify the geographic location of at least some of the pluralityof access points of the indoor transit system.

Switching from displaying the indoor map of at least part of the indoortransit system on the user interface of the mobile computing device todisplaying the outdoor map may occur when the mobile computing devicedetermines that the mobile computing device is no longer inside theindoor transit system based on the detected one or more of the beacons.

The route may extend along at least part of the indoor transit systemand at least part of the outdoor map. The route may extend from insidethe indoor transit system, through an access point to outside of theindoor transit system, along at least part of the outdoor map, through adifferent access point of the indoor transit system, and back into theindoor transit system to the destination. The route may extend from alocation outside of the indoor transit system, along at least part ofthe outdoor map, through an access point of the indoor transit systemand back into the indoor transit system to the destination. The routemay extend from a location outside of the indoor transit system, alongat least part of the outdoor map, through an access point of the indoortransit system and back into the indoor transit system to thedestination.

The methods discussed herein may include displaying turn-by-turninstructions as the mobile computing device traverses the computedroute.

The destination may be received as a nearest bathroom. The bathroomnearest to the identified location of the mobile computing device may bedetermined and entered as the destination.

At least part of the indoor transit system may be closed based on aschedule. The computed route may take into account the schedule suchthat the computed route does not traverse through those parts of theindoor transit system when they are scheduled to be closed but mayinclude those same parts when they are scheduled to be open.

Computing the route through the indoor transit system to the destinationmay include checking to see if a wheelchair accessible route setting isset, and if so, computing the route through the indoor transit system tothe destination using only wheelchair accessible parts of the indoortransit system.

In another example configuration, a method of navigating an indoortransit system may be provided. The indoor transit system may include anetwork of indoor pathways, a plurality of access points forentering/exiting the indoor transit system, and a plurality of beaconsdistributed at designated locations throughout the indoor transitsystem. The indoor transit system may be situated in a geographicregion, where an outdoor map is defined for the geographic region andthe outdoor map identifies the geographic location of at least some ofthe plurality of access points of the indoor transit system. The methodmay comprise detecting one or more of the beacons of the indoor transitsystem using a mobile computing device and determining when the mobilecomputing device is inside the indoor transit system or outside of theindoor transit system based on the detected one or more of the beacons.When it is determined that the mobile computing device is inside of theindoor transit system, the method may include identifying the locationof the mobile computing device within the indoor transit system based onwhich of the plurality of beacons are detected by the mobile computingdevice and displaying an indoor map of at least part of the indoortransit system on a user interface of the mobile computing device,including the identified location of the mobile computing device. Whenit is determined that the mobile computing device is outside of theindoor transit system, the method may include identifying the locationof the mobile computing device in the geographic region based onlocation services of the mobile computing device and displaying theoutdoor map of at least part of the geographic region on the userinterface of the mobile computing device, including the identifiedlocation of the mobile computing device. The method may further includereceiving a destination accessible using at least part of the indoortransit system via the user interface of the mobile computing device,computing a route to the destination that includes at least part of theindoor transit system, and displaying on the user interface of themobile computing device the computed route.

The methods disclosed herein may include switching from displaying theindoor map of at least part of the indoor transit system on the userinterface of the mobile computing device to displaying the outdoor mapwhen the mobile computing device determines that the mobile computingdevice is no longer inside the indoor transit system based on thedetected one or more of the beacons.

The route may extend along at least part of the indoor transit systemand at least part of the outdoor map. The route may extend from insidethe indoor transit system, through an access point to outside of theindoor transit system, along at least part of the outdoor map, through adifferent access point of the indoor transit system, and back into theindoor transit system to the destination. The route extends from alocation outside of the indoor transit system, along at least part ofthe outdoor map, through an access point of the indoor transit systemand back into the indoor transit system to the destination. The routeextends from a location outside of the indoor transit system, along atleast part of the outdoor map, through an access point of the indoortransit system and back into the indoor transit system to thedestination.

In further example configuration, a computer readable medium havingstored thereon in a non-transitory state a program code for use by amobile computing device connectable to a network may be provided, wherethe program code may cause the mobile computing device to execute amethod of navigating one or more of a skyway system or a subway system.The method may include detecting one or more of a plurality of beaconsof the indoor transit system by the mobile computing device anddetermine when the mobile computing device is inside the indoor transitsystem based on the detected one or more of the beacons. The method mayfurther include identifying the location of the mobile computing devicewithin the indoor transit system based on which of the plurality ofbeacons are detected by the mobile computing device and displaying anindoor map of at least part of the indoor transit system on a userinterface of the mobile computing device, including the identifiedlocation of the mobile computing device. Further, the method may includereceiving a destination accessible by the indoor transit system via theuser interface of the mobile computing device, computing a route throughthe indoor transit system to the destination, and displaying on the userinterface of the mobile computing device the computed route on theindoor map.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same techniques can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments of thedisclosure.

It is to be understood that the above description has been made in anillustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combination of theabove embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically describedherein will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing theabove description.

The scope of the various embodiments of the disclosure includes anyother applications in which the above structures and methods are used.In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in example embodiments illustrated in the figures for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the embodiments of thedisclosure require more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim. Rather, inventive subject matter lies in less than all featuresof a single disclosed embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device comprising: a wirelesstransceiver for communicating with a remote device over a network; afirst location service for determining a location of the mobile device;a second location service for determining the location of the mobiledevice; a user interface including a display; a controller operativelycoupled to the wireless transceiver, the user interface, the firstlocation service and the second location service, the controllerconfigured to: receive via the wireless transceiver a route from a firstlocation to a second location, wherein the route traverses from aninterior of a first interior space, through an exit point of the firstinterior space to an outdoor space, through at least part of the outdoorspace to an entry point of a second interior space, and into the secondinterior space; identify the location of the mobile device along atleast part of the route that traverses the first interior space usingthe first location service; identify the location of the mobile devicealong at least part of the route that traverses the outdoor space usingthe second location service; identify the location of the mobile devicealong at least part of the route that traverses the second interiorspace using the first location service; and display on the display ofthe user interface of the mobile device the identified location of themobile device as the mobile device travels along at least part of theroute from the first location to the second location.
 2. The mobiledevice of claim 1, wherein: the first location service is configured to:identify the location of the mobile device along the part of the routethat traverses the first interior space by sensing one or more signalsfrom one or more beacons positioned at predetermined locations along theroute in the interior of the first interior space; identify the locationof the mobile device along the part of the route that traverses thesecond interior space by sensing one or more signals from one or morebeacons positioned at predetermined locations along the route in theinterior of the second interior space; and the second location serviceis configured to: identify the location of the mobile device along thepart of the route that traverses the outdoor space using GPS, cellulartriangulation and/or one or more WiFi hotspots.
 3. The mobile device ofclaim 1, wherein the controller is configured to display on the displayof the user interface of the mobile device a map view with at least partof the route overlaid on the map view.
 4. The mobile device of claim 3,wherein the map view is an indoor map view when the mobile device is inthe first interior space and/or the second interior space, and is anoutdoor map view when the mobile device is in the outdoor space, whereinthe indoor map view is differentiated from the outdoor map view.
 5. Themobile device of claim 3, wherein the controller is further configuredto overlay on the map view at least one of: a navigational aid thatdisplays turn-by-turn directions as the mobile device travels along atleast part of the route from the first location to the second location;one or more visual indicators including one or more of: a location of anentry into the first interior space; a location of an exit from thefirst interior space; a location of an entry into the second interiorspace; a location of an exit from the second interior space; a locationof each of one or more parking lots; a location of each of one or morehotels; a location of each of one or more restaurants; a location ofeach of one or more restrooms; a location of each of one or moreescalators; a location of each of one or more subway stations; alocation of each of one or more skyway systems; a location of a parkedvehicle; and an estimated time to travel along the route to the secondlocation.
 6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to: receive via the user interface of the mobile device oneor more personal settings of a user of the mobile device, wherein theone or more personal settings include special route preferences; andsend the one or more personal settings via the wireless transceiver tothe remote device, wherein the remote device is configured to determinethe route from the first location to the second location based at leastin part on one or more of the special route preferences.
 7. The mobiledevice of claim 6, wherein the special route preferences include one ormore of: routes that are wheelchair friendly; routes with elevators;routes with restrooms; and routes with restaurants.
 8. The mobile deviceof claim 1, wherein the route is dependent on one or more of outdoorweather conditions, indoor and/or outdoor traffic, time-of-day,availability of public and/or private transportation, and known safetyconcerns.
 9. A system for navigating from a first location to a secondlocation using a mobile device, the system comprising: a server; amobile device; the server including: an I/O port for communicating withthe mobile device; a controller operatively coupled to the I/O port, thecontroller of the server configured to: determine at least part of aroute from a first location to a second location, wherein the routetraverses from a first outdoor space, through an entry point of and intoan interior space, through an exit point of the interior space and to asecond outdoor space; a mobile device that includes: a wirelesstransceiver for communicating with the server via the I/O port of theserver; a location service; a user interface including a display; acontroller operatively coupled to the wireless transceiver of the mobiledevice, the user interface, and the location service, the controller ofthe mobile device configured to: receive the route via the wirelesstransceiver of the mobile device; identify a location of the mobiledevice along at least part of the route that traverses the first outdoorspace using the location service; identify the location of the mobiledevice along at least part of the route that traverses the interiorspace using the location service; identify the location of the mobiledevice along at least part of the route that traverses the secondoutdoor space using the location service; and display on the display ofthe user interface of the mobile device the identified location of themobile device as the mobile device travels along at least part of theroute from the first location to the second location.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the location service of the mobile device comprises: afirst location service for determining a location of the mobile devicein the interior space; and a second location service for determining thelocation of the mobile device in the first outdoor space and the secondoutdoor space.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller of themobile device is configured to: reference an outdoor mapping applicationwhen the location of the mobile device is identified as being in thefirst outdoor space or the second outdoor space; and reference in indoormapping application when the location of the mobile device is identifiedas being in the interior space.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein thecontroller of the mobile device is configured to display on the displayof the user interface of the mobile device a map view with at least partof the route overlaid on the map view.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the map view is an indoor map view when the mobile device is inthe interior space, and is an outdoor map view when the mobile device isin the first outdoor space or the second outdoor space, wherein theindoor map view is differentiated from the outdoor map view.
 14. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the controller of the server is configuredto: access one or more first attributes relating to the interior space,wherein the one or more first attributes include one or more of alocation of the entry point of the interior space and hours during whichthe entry point of the interior space is open, and determine the routefrom the first location to the second location based at least in part onone or more of the one or more first attributes; and/or access one ormore second attributes relating to the interior space, wherein the oneor more second attributes include one or more of a location of the exitpoint of the interior space and hours during which the exit point of theinterior space is open, and determine the route from the first locationto the second location based at least in part on one or more of the oneor more second attributes.
 15. The system of claim 9, wherein thecontroller of the server is configured to: access one or more outdoorattributes relating to the first outdoor space and/or the second outdoorspace, wherein the one or more outdoor attributes include one or more ofweather reports, traffic reports, news reports, availability of publicand/or private transportation, crowd drawing events and safetyincidents; and determine the route from the first location to the secondlocation based at least in part on one or more of the one or moreoutdoor attributes.
 16. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller ofthe mobile device is configured to: detect a beacon near a currentlocation of the mobile device; determine through the detected beacon adesignated location within one of a plurality of known mapped interiorspaces each having a corresponding indoor map; determine that thedesignated location is within one of the plurality of known mappedinterior spaces; select the corresponding indoor map that includes thedetected beacon; display the selected indoor map on the display of themobile device; and display the current location of the mobile device onthe selected indoor map.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein thecontroller of the mobile device is configured to issue an alert via theuser interface of the mobile device when a corresponding indoor map isavailable at their current location.
 18. A non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored thereon a program code for use by a mobiledevice connectable to a network, the program code causing the mobiledevice to: receive via the network a route from a first location to asecond location, wherein the route traverses from an interior of a firstinterior space, through an exit point of the first interior space to anoutdoor space, through at least part of the outdoor space to an entrypoint of a second interior space, and into the second interior space;identify a location of the mobile device along at least part of theroute that traverses the first interior space; identify the location ofthe mobile device along at least part of the route that traverses theoutdoor space; identify the location of the mobile device along at leastpart of the route that traverses the second interior space; and displayon a display of mobile device the identified location of the mobiledevice as the mobile device travels along at least part of the routefrom the first location to the second location.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the program code causingthe mobile device to: display on the display of the mobile device a mapview with at least part of the route overlaid on the map view; and anavigational aid that displays turn-by-turn directions as the mobiledevice travels along at least part of the route from the first locationto the second location.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable mediumof claim 18, wherein the program code causing the mobile device to:using a first location service of the mobile device to identify thelocation of the mobile device along at least part of the route thattraverses the first interior space; using a second location service ofthe mobile device to identify the location of the mobile device along atleast part of the route that traverses the outdoor space; using thefirst location service of the mobile device to identify the location ofthe mobile device along at least part of the route that traverses thesecond interior space; and wherein the first location service usesbeacons placed in the first interior space and the second interiorspace, and the second location service uses GPS, cellular triangulationand/or one or more WiFi hotspots.